Anyway I can’t wait to see your soar even higher. Let me know how I can help in any way.

Excellent advice Chris…bookmarking this page.

Anyway I can’t wait to see your soar even higher. Let me know how I can help in any way.

Excellent advice Chris…bookmarking this page.

Really great article. Thank you! This year for me is all about how I can improve and how I can grow in developing my business online. I am still fairly new to this. I do have a blog and I do have a product, I only learned how to do those in the last year. Now I need to learn about the rest of it.

Your Authority Blogger course sounds like it would be a good one for me to consider in the future.

Kind Regards

Jacinta

Really great article. Thank you! This year for me is all about how I can improve and how I can grow in developing my business online. I am still fairly new to this. I do have a blog and I do have a product, I only learned how to do those in the last year. Now I need to learn about the rest of it.

Your Authority Blogger course sounds like it would be a good one for me to consider in the future.

Kind Regards

Jacinta

I think what you note in regards to bloggers and their inability to effectively monetize their blogs is spot on. As someone who considers himself a niche marketer and primarily drives traffic via organic search rather than social platforms like blogs, I think that bloggers suffer from several things.

I hope you don’t mind if I add a few things here:

1. Too much focus on Socially driven platforms and not enough focus on getting search traffic- As a blogger (if only for a vanity blog), I can see where someone could get caught up in the social side of blogging. After all, for most of us, it is simply in our nature to want to interact. However, search and ppc traffic will almost always out-do social traffic, conversion wise, because usually search traffic is looking for something in particular, RIGHT NOW.

The RIGHT NOW audience will almost always convert better and make more money for the blogger. The challenge is figuring out how to get the best of both worlds….to create your own little brand that ranks for the keywords that are within your market.

Get them both and the blogger will sell, build their readership (which is wonderful in regards to proofing and credibility) and create a semi-passive stream of income from their blog.

Social traffic, on the other hand, is more like subscribing to a magazine…you may become informed or enlightened in regards to something but at best, usually, most sales are “impulsive.”

2. The other thing is what I call Blogger’s regret- A blogger who suffers from this is worried that if they start to overtly sale things on their blog, that they will alienate their audience and lose readership. As a marketer, I don’t understand it but for most bloggers it is a conundrum.

Most bloggers solve this problem with a “sponsored listing” which is nothing more than a very soft sell. Obviously, there are better approaches and many bloggers would benefit from simply watching what marketers in general do with their blog (including yours) in terms of monetization.

For example, if you are a blogger who is worried about alienating your audience, rather than overtly advertise a product, you could soften the tone of your “pitch” with a review.

Another model would be to not directly sell anything on your website but your brand with the primary focus leading the visitor to join your mailing list AND then sell to them directly.

If straight up pitches scare a blogger, they can instead use the list to create a softer sale….such as creating over the top content for your subscribers with a link to something you are promoting as the only link in the email that is relative to the content you have created.

Anyway, sorry to “hi-jack” your post. I just thought it was good enough to merit a little feedback and felt like I could add to the discussion.

I think what you note in regards to bloggers and their inability to effectively monetize their blogs is spot on. As someone who considers himself a niche marketer and primarily drives traffic via organic search rather than social platforms like blogs, I think that bloggers suffer from several things.

I hope you don’t mind if I add a few things here:

1. Too much focus on Socially driven platforms and not enough focus on getting search traffic- As a blogger (if only for a vanity blog), I can see where someone could get caught up in the social side of blogging. After all, for most of us, it is simply in our nature to want to interact. However, search and ppc traffic will almost always out-do social traffic, conversion wise, because usually search traffic is looking for something in particular, RIGHT NOW.

The RIGHT NOW audience will almost always convert better and make more money for the blogger. The challenge is figuring out how to get the best of both worlds….to create your own little brand that ranks for the keywords that are within your market.

Get them both and the blogger will sell, build their readership (which is wonderful in regards to proofing and credibility) and create a semi-passive stream of income from their blog.

Social traffic, on the other hand, is more like subscribing to a magazine…you may become informed or enlightened in regards to something but at best, usually, most sales are “impulsive.”

2. The other thing is what I call Blogger’s regret- A blogger who suffers from this is worried that if they start to overtly sale things on their blog, that they will alienate their audience and lose readership. As a marketer, I don’t understand it but for most bloggers it is a conundrum.

Most bloggers solve this problem with a “sponsored listing” which is nothing more than a very soft sell. Obviously, there are better approaches and many bloggers would benefit from simply watching what marketers in general do with their blog (including yours) in terms of monetization.

For example, if you are a blogger who is worried about alienating your audience, rather than overtly advertise a product, you could soften the tone of your “pitch” with a review.

Another model would be to not directly sell anything on your website but your brand with the primary focus leading the visitor to join your mailing list AND then sell to them directly.

If straight up pitches scare a blogger, they can instead use the list to create a softer sale….such as creating over the top content for your subscribers with a link to something you are promoting as the only link in the email that is relative to the content you have created.

Anyway, sorry to “hi-jack” your post. I just thought it was good enough to merit a little feedback and felt like I could add to the discussion.

I asked David Risley the same question, but interested in your view.

How do you decide how to price a product when you start to monetize.

My site has grown really fast in 11 weeks and in April I want to monetize it, but how do you decide what to price the products at?

I’m thinking low is good to sell more, but too low could have a negative effect? Interested in your opinion

Added by Chris: First look at the norm for your niche, second start low and put the price up in stages until your sales slow. Your first product should be less about profit and more about establishing your percieved value in the marketplace so people know that you offer good stuff, grow your testimonials, reviews (and optionally, affiliates), and anticipation for your next product.

I asked David Risley the same question, but interested in your view.

How do you decide how to price a product when you start to monetize.

My site has grown really fast in 11 weeks and in April I want to monetize it, but how do you decide what to price the products at?

I’m thinking low is good to sell more, but too low could have a negative effect? Interested in your opinion

Added by Chris: First look at the norm for your niche, second start low and put the price up in stages until your sales slow. Your first product should be less about profit and more about establishing your percieved value in the marketplace so people know that you offer good stuff, grow your testimonials, reviews (and optionally, affiliates), and anticipation for your next product.

Same here. With IE7 I cannot open Steven’ site. Like your blog post and have saved it for future references but frustrating that I cannot open and read Steven’s site.

Ciao Madeleine

Same here. With IE7 I cannot open Steven’ site. Like your blog post and have saved it for future references but frustrating that I cannot open and read Steven’s site.

Ciao Madeleine

It would be great if you could specify anymore conversion technique for email sales.:)

Thanks in advance.

It would be great if you could specify anymore conversion technique for email sales.:)

Thanks in advance.

We all see the same thing when we visit Steven Aitchison’s blog but we all have a different perspective.

If I may add a critique (from my perspective) for Steven’s blog, it would be to change the “Get CYT Free” button. Somehow, it looks like an already pressed buttons in all three browser that I tried. Worst in IE. The image of the book is half covered.

Maybe it is just me, but it makes me feel uncomfortable and it doesn’t look much like a button that I should take an action on.

We all see the same thing when we visit Steven Aitchison’s blog but we all have a different perspective.

If I may add a critique (from my perspective) for Steven’s blog, it would be to change the “Get CYT Free” button. Somehow, it looks like an already pressed buttons in all three browser that I tried. Worst in IE. The image of the book is half covered.

Maybe it is just me, but it makes me feel uncomfortable and it doesn’t look much like a button that I should take an action on.

I have to say unlike you and Steven, I’m not shy about promoting my products and services since my blog focuses on teaching people to make money online. I feel if I cut out the self-promotion, then it won’t be much of a business.

I have to say unlike you and Steven, I’m not shy about promoting my products and services since my blog focuses on teaching people to make money online. I feel if I cut out the self-promotion, then it won’t be much of a business.